Perhaps one of the most impressive eye-catching pieces of equipment you will find on a construction site is a crane. These titans of the industry come in a variety of types and configurations, tower cranes, conventional crawler, rough terrain and truck mount are some the most common in use today. For the average person traveling down the road these pieces of equipment are the main identifier that reveals that there is construction under way. They also can be a physical indicator of how well an economy is doing, Denver recently was ranked third in the nation for having the most crane booms erected in the air. With this much activity and construction it is vital to ensure the safety of the workers along with the safety of the public. OSHA has measures and standards in place that require the inspection and documentation of cranes to insure they are in good safe working condition. Let’s take a look at and review three types of crane inspections. These are Frequent inspections, Periodic inspections, and Annual Inspections.

How often should a crane be inspected? 

To begin a Frequent inspection must be performed by the operator who is knowledgeable in the operations of the equipment that he or she is working with. Frequent inspections are often referred as daily or shift inspections. Although not required, it is recommended to record the inspection in the equipment logbook. A crane that has not been used for more than a month, but less than six months requires all frequent inspections before being used. Items of inspection should include:

• Operational Controls
• Drives
• Air & Hydraulic Pressure Lines
• Hooks & Latches
• Wire Rope
• Tires (If Equipped)
• Ground Conditions
• Safety Devices

 

Periodic inspections or often referred as Monthly inspections are the next category of inspection, these are required to be performed by a competent person. The periodic inspection procedure is intended to determine the need for repair or replacement of parts. All cranes are designed and manufactured with a safety factor in place, but all machines begin to depreciate over time and repetitive use, The Periodic inspections are designed to identify and address these situations. They are similar to Frequent inspections but require a written record to be documented and maintained by the crane’s user/owner. The inspection and information must contain the name, date and signature of the person who performed the inspection.

One of the standards that are in place to ensure crane safety is the annual inspection, Annual comprehensive inspections are required to be performed at 12-month intervals by a qualified person.  OSHA requires that all active cranes must be inspected once a year at the minimum by a qualified person. However, depending on the crane’s usage, additional inspections will be required. Annual inspections are a vital component in ensuring the crane is in good working condition and safe for overhead lifts. These inspections are the most thorough of the three and provide a comprehensive look at the following:

• Control mechanism operations
• Control and drive mechanisms free of excessive wear or damage
• Hooks and latches are free of deformation, cracks, excessive wear’ or damage
• Wire Rope reeving complies with the manufacturer’s specifications
• Wire rope condition and free from damage
• Sheaves and drums do not have cracks or significant damage
• Safety Devices- Crane level indicator, Anti-two block system, jib stops, boom stops, etc.
• Equipment structure
• Boom integrity Hydraulic or lattice
• Hydraulic and Pneumatic Pumps & Motors
• Tires (If Equipped)
• Ground Conditions

At the end of the day following the inspection process and procedures for cranes is a critical component for ensuring worker and public safety at and around construction sites, as well as following the manufactures recommended maintenance program. Our crane inspection experts travel across the United States ensuring our clients equipment is safe for overhead lifts, and both have over 25 years’ experience. If you would like more information, the Colorado Crane Experts at Trivent Safety Consulting are available to help with any crane or rigging challenges that you may face at your project.

Hilti Inc. is facing $164,802 in penalties after OSHA discovered numerous safety violations following a forklift accident. Investigators discovered the company exposed workers to struck-by hazards after an employee was injured while operating a forklift at a distribution center in Atlanta.  OSHA inspectors determined that Hilti failed to provide forklift operator training and instructions to employees operating the vehicles, and ensure that employees performed daily forklift inspections. Follow the link below to read the full story.

http://www.ehstoday.com/osha/hilti-inc-racks-osha-fines-after-forklift-accident?

OSHA estimates that 35,000 serious injuries and 62,000 non-serious injuries involving forklifts occur annually. Further, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 96 U.S. workers were killed in incidents involving forklifts in 2015. OSHA’s Powered Industrial Trucks Standard – 29 CFR 1910.178 – establishes that “the employer shall ensure that each powered industrial truck operator is competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely, as demonstrated by the successful completion of the training and evaluation” outlined in the standard. So who should receive training when it comes to operating forklifts? Any person who will be operating the equipment no matter how long or simple a task may seem. The penalty for negligence in the event of an accident can be severe, as mentioned in a previous blog. https://www.triventsc.com/blog/business-owner-manager-charged-with-manslaughter/

   Here are five accident statistics that should cause you to exercise extreme caution when operating a forklift:

1. Forklifts account for around 85 deaths every year.
2. Forklift accidents that result in serious injury total 34,900 annually.
3. Non-serious injuries related to forklift accidents reach 61,800 each year.
4. A forklift overturning is the most common incident, accounting for 24% of all forklift accidents.

If companies implemented more stringent training policies, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that about 70% of forklift accidents in the US could be prevented.                                                                                                                                                         

(OSHA) estimates that about 70% of forklift accidents in the US could be prevented.       

With that in mind here are a few items that should be addressed with a certified training program:

• Understanding of operating instructions
• Use of controls and instrumentation
• Steering and maneuvering
• Visibility
• Vehicle Stability
• Vehicle Capacity
• Thorough understanding and ability to reference load charts
• Fork attachments
• Maintenance
• Refueling safety

Trivent Safety Consulting certified forklift training consists of the following three parts:

1. Formal instruction can be given using lectures, discussions, interactive computer learning, videos, or written material.

2. Practical, hands-on training covers demonstrations performed by the trainer and practical exercises performed by the trainee.

3. An evaluation of the operator’s ability to handle the truck safely in the workplace must be conducted by the trainer. Specific training topics to be covered are listed in the standards. All of the topics must be covered unless the employer can show that certain topics are not needed.Employers must certify that the training and evaluation has been done. Each operator’s performance must be evaluated every three years. Usually, the person doing the evaluation would first observe the operator to determine if he or she is performing safely, and then ask questions to ensure that the operator has the knowledge or experience needed.Refresher training is required whenever one of the following occurs:

• the operator is involved in an accident or near-miss incident;
• the operator has been observed operating the vehicle in an unsafe manner;
• the operator has been determined in an evaluation to need more training;
• there are changes in the workplace that could affect safe operation (such as a different type of paving, reconfigured storage racks, or new layouts with narrower aisles or restricted visibility); or
• the operator is assigned to a different type of truck.

Are you, or your staff in need of training? If so, contact us today 1-800-819-6092 and we can get one of our industry leading trainers out to your location as soon as possible! Remember luck is never considered a strategy, but proper training and policy development is. Let us help you achieve your goals!

Author: Scott Seppers

No matter where you are, or where you are heading, you may have experienced our topic of discussion today and that is distracted driving. We’ve all seen it play out before, from the person sitting at the front of the traffic light who needs to be alerted from someone behind as they sit comfortably at the intersections pole position, to the more serious infraction of not being able to stay in one driving lane. One thing is for sure and that as technology continues to evolve so does the frequency of distracted driving issues. It would be nice to have all distracted driving issues come to end after taking a moment to address and discuss this ongoing epidemic, but the reality is there will be a high likelihood of this continuing to be an issue for the foreseeable future. So lets take a moment today and discuss one of the main distractions we see on a daily basis while driving…. Texting!

Texting is the Most Dangerous Type of Distracted Driving

According to the CDC there are 3 types of driving distractions:

• Visual: a distraction that diverts your eyes from the road
• Manual: something that causes you to take your hands off the wheel
• Cognitive: anything that takes your mental focus off the road

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has determined that texting while driving is the most dangerous type of distracted driving. This is mostly because texting combines all 3 types of driving distractions at once: visual, manual and cognitive.

Pictured above is the fatal aftermath of a distracted driving incident in California, the driver was sentenced to a year in jail after the crash that killed two people. Scenes like the above are a grizzly reminder of what can potentially happen if we become complacent and allow ourselves to become distracted behind the wheel of an automobile.

According to a Cambridge Mobile Telematics survey, most drivers are more afraid of distracted drivers than drunk drivers, but curbing the problem isn’t easy.

Distracted driving has become an epidemic, but do people believe that it is even more dangerous than drunk driving? According to our recent survey of more than 700 drivers, the answer is yes; 63 percent of respondents noted they are more afraid of distracted drivers than drunk drivers.

Each day, roughly 9 people are killed in crashes caused by distracted drivers – equating to about 3,285 deaths a year. When compared to the number of people killed in drunk driving-related crashes in 2016 (10,497) that number is smaller, driving while distracted is actually more dangerous. Texting and driving at 55 miles per hour is the equivalent of driving the length of a football field with eyes closed. Even more, it takes the average sober driver .54 seconds to hit the brake. For a driver who’s been drinking, add four feet to their reaction time, but add 70 feet for someone who has been texting. Wanna read more? Click the link: www.cmtelematics.com/blog/distracted-driving-vs-drunk-driving-fear-solutions/

At the end of the day nobody wants to become part of a statistic, Trivent Safety Consulting understands the risks and inherit dangers of every day driving and has developed a defensive driving course to help bring awareness and discussion to the forefront of what most us take for granted  on a daily basis. Interested in learning more? Contact us today so we can heighten awareness and provide valuable training to your team. We can help inform and build a safety culture for you and your work force!

By: Scott Seppers

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second best time is today.”  This particular saying has stood out to me over time and I often think of it when I think about when the best time is to conduct training.  As a previous iron worker general foreman I can relate to the feeling of second guessing and thinking of possible scenarios that could have taken place prior to an accident ever occurring. The game of playing hind-site is never very productive and has yet to change the outcome of any incident I have ever known. The one thing that has always remained true, is the question one might ask him or herself “Could this have been prevented with better training?” After an accident you may feel that the best time for training, would have been prior to any accident ever occurring. I think it is safe to say that no one wants to see people get hurt on the job site and at the same time it has been very difficult to acquire experienced professionals. So what is the answer to this issue? At the end of the day, the solution to a lack of experience is a well informed and trained work force.

“The solution to a lack of experience is a well informed and trained work force.”

With that said, where should we begin?

Fall Protection is a high priority for those who have workers that are exposed.

After a quick review of the statistic graph above it would seem that fall protection training would be a good place to start for those who have workers exposed to falls. Trivent Safety Consulting offers a variety of fall protection courses from a 4-hour fall protection awareness course, to the rigid standards of the EM-385 that encompasses three days of fall protection training and rescue. We also offer customized training courses for our clients and can develop specific training that can focus on sub-part topics. Some clients prefer to have a greater deal of emphasis placed on specific topics due to their employees exposure rates. Some examples of such courses that we have developed in the past are Sub-part P excavation competent person training, along with Sub-part AA confined space competent person training. At Trivent we pride ourselves on being able to create training that meets the requirements of each standard and the needs of our clients. A well informed work force in construction leads to a safer more productive work environment and in addition can lead to increased employee moral. “The proof is in the pudding” as they say, and the statistics are shown to confirm the end result.

So when is the best time to train your work force? If you can relate to the old  proverb it would be a considerable amount of time before there ever was an issue. The second best time is today! Contact us today and let Trivent Safety Consulting be a part in developing your work force and safety culture for your company. Remember luck is never considered a strategy, but proper training and policy development is. Let us help you achieve your goals!

Author: Scott Seppers

Have you ever wondered what might happen if OSHA was to stop by on a project your working on, more importantly have you ever had a moment that caused you to pause and ask yourself if the task you were involved with was being performed as safely as possible? If you’re like me, than the answer is a resounding yes, but the unknown of what might be discovered on such an inspection can be paralyzing. It is for reasons like this many people take an out of site out of mind approach and for better lack of  term bury their heads in the sand and ignore where there might be safety issues. Unfortunately though ignoring a potential problem doesn’t make it go away, but can often lead to unintended consequences such as general acceptance to a potential hazard that has been left by the way side. OSHA states ” If your employer is covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, you have the right to request an OSHA inspection. OSHA also may make requested inspections. Inspections can cover the entire workplace or just a few operations. OSHA calls its inspectors “compliance officers.” 

   As mentioned earlier with so many topics and items that are up for review it can be a little overwhelming when thinking about compliance to the standards and how far they range. Some examples to think about are, qualified riggers and signal people, anyone involved with rigging or signaling overhead loads with cranes is required to have qualified rigger and signal person training. Scaffolds, who is the competent person who is over seeing the construction and maintenance of scaffolding on the project? Is the scaffold being inspected and signed off ready for use each day? Is the forklift operator certified to run the equipment? Employees working at heights, have they received fall protection training? These are just a few examples that can be up for review on an inspection, not to mention the administrative portion that can be conducted before the site walk inspection begins.

  “Trivent Safety Consulting wants to help you start the new year and project as safe as possible.”

   So how can we be prepared and know that are projects are in compliance and assigned tasks are being performed as safely as possible? Frequent site inspections that refer to the OSHA compliance standards on any and all topics that are applicable to the project your working on. Site inspections are a great tool to use on construction sites. They can develop a picture for you on how things are looking safety wise on the project and can also reveal areas for improvement where training is needed. You may be asking yourself “how can I conduct frequent site inspections based on the OSHA compliance standards if I don’t know all of them?”

   Trivent Safety Consulting wants to help you start the new year and project as safe as possible. We are offering one free site inspection per company from now till the end of January. This inspection is OSHA based and will hit all topics of construction and compliance that are applicable to your project. Any recognized deficiency’s will come with a picture of that deficiency and why it is in violation of the standard. If a lack of training or policy is discovered one of our professionals can help you address and correct the situation in a timely manner. We also offer onsite safety representation to help you work through and establish a safer work site. All reports are 100% confidential to the requesting company. Contact us today and take advantage of this free no obligation inspection and see what we can do for you in the future to provide a safe and informed work force on the job site!

Author: Scott Seppers